May 26^th 2019. Sixth Sunday of Easter

GOSPEL  John 14:23-29

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

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GOSPEL  John 14:23-29

Jesus said to his disciples: "Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.
"I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me tell you, 'I am going away and I will come back to you.'
If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;
for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe."

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . .

- Obedience flows from love: Jesus tells us that if we love him then we will keep his word. It is love that produces true obedience, not vice-versa. Yes, there is a form of slavish obedience that is possible without love, but what Jesus desires from us is the higher obedience that flows naturally out of love.

- If I keep Jesus’ words, then God makes himself present in my life: If we cherish Christ’s words, then this wonderful process begins: "My Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him". God will be present in our daily lives and actions!

- The Holy Spirit has two functions: The Holy Spirit will become our teacher and guide. According to Jesus, the Holy Spirit teaches us and guides our memories.

- Is the Spirit’s teaching limited to certain areas? What does the Spirit teach us? Particular instructions for the “religious” part of our lives! No, the Holy Spirit’s function is to teach us everything! If there is an area in which I think I know everything, then I can be sure that this area is marked by mediocrity.

- Humility is essential before the Spirit can teach us: “To teach” means “to write within”. If our inner hearts are already covered in our own beliefs and priorities, then it is more difficult for the Holy Spirit to write in us anew. In order to learn, we need the beautiful virtue of humility! We must allow our cherished ideas and prejudices to be rewritten by the Spirit.

- The Holy Spirit is the master of reading the past: My memory needs to be renewed by the Holy Spirit. He can help me to see how God’s loving providence was active, especially in the areas of my life in which I have failed. He brings peace and helps me to see that my anxieties are unfounded.

Love leads to obedience, not vice-versa

"If anyone loves me, he will keep my word." According to Jesus, obedience does not produce love. It is the very opposite that is true – love gives rise to obedience. In the spiritual life, obedience is certainly very important, but full and complete obedience flows from love, not vice-versa. There is slavish obedience and then there is a higher form of obedience that originates in gratitude and affection. The Gospel passage describes this noble process. If someone loves Jesus, then he "observes" his word - he cherishes what Jesus has told him. And this is something that becomes even greater as our love for Jesus deepens: ". . . and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him". God "will make a home" in that person; he will be present in his daily life and actions. This is the experience of being guided by the Holy Spirit. “Paraclete" means "one who is called neighbour". This closeness of the Spirit makes him our "Comforter".

The Holy Spirit has two functions, to teach and to help us remember properly

According to Jesus, the Paraclete does two things: "He will teach you everything" and "He will remind you of all that I have told you". Teaching is not so simple. The problem is that we often think we have nothing to learn. For example, we think we already know what love is, yet love is not something that can be learned once and for all. It is an ever-new art. To love you have to start afresh every day, and we need the Spirit to teach us how. The verb "to teach" means "to write upon". The Holy Spirit wishes to write something new in us, but our inner page is already covered in beliefs and priorities that are difficult to change. That is why the wonderful virtue of humility is essential for authentic learning. He who is without humility does not learn and does not correct himself. Such a life will have difficulties in learning how to love.

What do we need to learn? Everything! If we think there is an area in which we know everything then we can be sure that this is an area marked by mediocrity

We could ask: what do we learn from the Holy Spirit? How to pray? How to behave? Yes, this too; but Jesus says that the task of the Spirit is to teach us ... everything! We need to learn all we do over and over again. The beautiful thing about Christian life is that everything is a constant discovery! And if there is an area of ​​life in which we believe we have nothing to learn, we can be sure that this area is marked by mediocrity. Everything in us needs to be continually renewed by the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit illuminates our memory and helps us to see the loving action of God towards us in all that has happened

The other task of the Spirit is to remind us of what Jesus said. This is essential because it is from the word of Christ that one is born again and becomes a coherent follower of the Lord. God has actually been speaking to us from childhood. How much we still have to understand and discover about our past! Above all, we need to comprehend better those areas in which we have refused God or failed in some way. In those events, God was telling us something that perhaps we have not yet accepted. The Spirit is the master of memory, of reading the past. When he illuminates our memory, he brings to light and envelops our existence in its truth. The text of our lives is connected to its beginning and to everything that has happened in the meantime. The Spirit teaches us how to keep the word of Jesus in our memories. He triggers the process with which we come to see the loving providence of God in all that has happened to us. This is the pathway to inner peace, where everything that might cause us anxiety is seen to be small.